PART 1 of 3 PARTS: INTRODUCTION
Upon receiving confirmation (October, 2004) from a third source of a diagnosis, I was faced with a condition I knew nothing about or what issues I would be facing. Soon after I made a decision. That decision helped to curb thoughts of despair, and the feeling that all was lost. I had always been a positive thinking person. Reserved socially, but always willing to take reasonable risks. I decided to accept the diagnosis, learn about PD, and develop a strategy to fight it.
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| With former co-workers at AMP Incorporated, later Tyco Electronics. |
It was a period for those around me...work associates, close family...of utter shock when they learned I had been diagnosed with PD. Early symptoms were not evident to them. I was at the peak of a 30-year career at one firm. Something I never expected.
A year passed before I began considering retirement. In my late 50's, I felt I had many years of high level productivity remaining. My wife, always the cautious one, suggested I consider retiring soon.
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| Nana and Papa enjoy a bike hike wih grandsons, Dylan and Connor. |
Our two daughters had graduated college, were married, making careers of their own. One lived close to us in Pennsylvania. The other had settled in Colorado with her husband and two young sons. Visiting our grandsons was wonderful. Problem was we only saw them two times a year at best.
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| With daughter Amy in RMNP. |
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| The family after the 2011 Annual Vitality Walk to support PAR. (L to R) Daughter, Kim; wife, JoAnn; and son-in-law, Darren (D-MAC, co-host of The Drive show on 104.3 The Fan, in Denver. Grandsons Dylan (L) and Connor (R). |
In the course of the next year, I cut back my retirement date twice...from 3 years, to 18 months, to 6 months. Retirement would be Friday, July 26th., 2007. Three days later, the bed of my pickup was loaded with all my camping gear, and personal belongings. Our youngest daughter, an English Teacher, who had the summer off, agreed to accompany me on a three-day cross-country road trip to Denver, Colorado. Three months later, my wife had sold the house and for the second time, the same daughter accompanied her mom across the country.
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| With family on a day hike to Butler Gulch. |
Things that sealed the decision to relocate included, a good network of health care, including research facilities, and Neurologists conducting studies of people living with PD. The job market was also good...my wife would remain in the workforce a few years. Plus the climate was much drier. The Denver Metro area was and is known to average over 300 sunny days each year. Plus, we would be close to our grandsons. Why would be remain on the east coast?
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| At the Animas river, between Durango and Silverton. A family 5-day backpack trip in the Weminuche Wilderness. |
Not one to wait for something to happen, I immediately began looking for a house, a part-time job, and a Neurologist. Within four months, I had found all three. Plus my wife and I were together again.
Retirement provided ample time to learn what I could about PD. Surfing the internet daily brought me up to speed on what the Denver area provided in terms of medical care, exercise, and entertainment.
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| With grandsons, Connor (L) and Dylan (R). |
I began seeing a Neurologist who for the first time in over three years was not going to be leaving his practice and the state (like PA.) because of the high cost of malpractice insurance. Additional research led me to visit the Aurora Center for Active Adults, at 6th Avenue and Del Mar.
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| Annual 'Hike the Canyon' (Eldorado Canyon) event to raise funds for PAR. |
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| Team button promotes fundraising efforts for PAR. |
After talking to staff there, I signed up to go on a day hike to Rocky Mountain National Park. It was the best decision I made. Six years, and hundreds of trail miles later, I look forward to every Tuesday. Why?, because I get to hike in the Colorado mountains with friends who enjoy doing what I love...hiking.
I consider 2007 through 2012 as the 'full speed ahead years' in terms of my drive to face daily challenges of living with PD. Climbing a mountain during this period was indeed a challenge, but it was one of the reasonable risks mentioned earlier. I climbed to the summits of Mt. Elbert and Mt. Democrat with my son-in-law and oldest grandson.
During this period, my symptoms remained virtually unnoticed to those around me. My stamina was as good as it had ever been. I had time to spend doing exactly what I had a passion for. Being in the back country.
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| Snowshoeing in Vail Valley. |
I enjoyed planning and experiencing multi-day backpack trips, including one to the Weminuche Wilderness in 2010, the Never Summer Wilderness, in 2012, and a retun trip to the Weminuche this past August.
I have always been fascinated to learn more about my family history. It is one of many projects started over the years. It's one project that has no end. There are new facts being learned all the time.
While doing research I read an article in the paper about a man who wrote a "Legacy Letter" to his children. The idea stuck with me. In October, 2010 I began a year-long journey to write my own Legacy Letter to my daughters.
My goal was to complete it and have a copy for each of them on my 65th birthday. Many drafts, many hours of research, and many one on one interviews with former friends, neighbors, and family, provided me with over 200 pages of text to edit. The project was finished in time to mail a copy to Penna. and give one to our daughter here in Colorado.
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| Hard bound cover image of Shadeville farmhouse. |
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| Childhood images at Shadeville farmhouse. |
Of course, life's journey takes unexpected turns from time to time. So it was in March, 2011. I had completed over 150 trail miles the year before, most of those miles in pain. I thought it was arthritius, so I kept hiking hoping it would get better. Each step, however, was a struggle. I was able to finish the year with 30 day hikes. By then, the pain was severe.
Xrays and an MRI of my left knee revealed I had a torn lateral minincus. It would be 4 painful months before I was able to secure a date for surgery. The partial knee replacement would be done by Doctor Craig Loucks, Orthopedic Surgeon, MD, FRCSC, ABOS Board Certified, and his team from PEAK Orthopedics & Spine. Surgery was done at Sky Vista Medical Center in Lone Tree, Colorado. Thanks Dr. Loucks.
Six weeks of prescribed physical therapy, followed by eight weeks of intense gym workouts and lots of short, easy hikes put me back on trail. I finished the year with 155 trail miles.
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| Backpacking the Continental Divide Trail (August, 2013) with friends. |
An organization I have the utmost respect for in terms of the services they provide those living with neurological disorders, is Parkinson Association of the Rockies (PAR). I was not in Aurora long before I got to know the staff there. I also was referred to a yoga class supported by PAR, for people with PD.
At one point, I met with the Executive Director of PAR, Cheryl Seifert, and asked her how I could combine my passion for the outdoors with raising awareness of PD in the community. It was suggested I consider writing a blog. What the heck is a blog?
Enter a young PAR staffer, Lindsey Vasser, who volunteered her skills to develop a blog site for me. Weeks later, August 2011, the hiker blog went live. It would begin a chapter in my life that I will cherish. Thanks Lindsay.
Two years and over 300 articles later, here I am at the keyboard composing another article. It has truly been a joy. Writing this blog is not only therapy for my brain, it forces mobility in my fingers and helps me to focus on the task at hand. The site (as you may know) has three elements...Improving Quality of Life, Promoting a Healthy Lifestyle, and Raising funds for PAR.
The first two elements are covered in articles throughout the last 24 months. April is Parkinson Awareness Month. So check out the articles in April for background information for this much more detailed account of living with PD. The primary topic regarding what is most responsible for improving my quality of life and promoting a healthy lifestyle is hiking. An article has been written after each day hike, and multi-day backpack trip taken since August, 2011. Articles are enhanced with images taken while on trail.
Writing has been a constant in my life. As a young husband and father, I learned my grandfather had written a daily journal from 1900 through 1904. In it, he provided a day to day account of a proud and successful farmer with a large family (13 children) of German heritage.
Today, journals as early as 1964 line book shelves in my home. Thanks Pappy. Until this blog was developed, I too maintained a trail journal. Hundreds of handwritten entries describe the good, the bad, and the extreme experiences one encounters while on trail.
That brings the 'full speed ahead' years to a close.
Life is Good! Although the pace of my daily routine has slowed a bit. It takes longer to get out from behind the steering wheel of a car. Added focus is needed to maintain balance when going up or down stairs. I don't always engage in extended conversation. Plus I rarely watch TV because my attention span is not what it once was.
None of these changes in my routine are considered setbacks. They are merely things I must allow more time for in the course of the day.
Bookmark this blog site and check back often for the next article in the series.
PART 2 of 3 PARTS, will talk about DAILY TASKS, including sleep habits, timely meds, brushng teeth, dressing, bathing, toileting, and meals.
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